Michigan Receives NCAA Bid, Will Travel to Kansas State
12/1/2002 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan volleyball team received an at-large bid to NCAA Tournament when the 64-team field was announced by the selection committee tonight (Sunday, Dec. 1). The Wolverines will travel to Manhattan, Kan., to play host Kansas State in first-round action at 5 p.m. CST Friday (Dec. 6) at Ahearn Field House. No. 12-seeded Washington State will face Oral Roberts in the site's other first-round match, with Friday's winners playing a second-round match at 7 p.m. CST Saturday (Dec. 7).
Michigan (16-14, 10-10 Big Ten) is making its fourth NCAA Tournament appearance (1997, 1999 and 2000). It is the third time the Wolverines have participated in the postseason under the direction of fourth-year head coach Mark Rosen. U-M earned its bid after posting 10 Big Ten Conference wins for just the fifth time in school history and recording its best conference record since going 13-7 in 1997. The team played 20 of its 30 matches against 13 teams which also earned bids to the NCAA Tournament, posting an 8-12 record in those matches.
The Wolverines have reached the second round in each of their three previous NCAA appearances. In 1997 Michigan defeated Temple in the first round before falling at Texas A&M in the second round. In 1999 the Wolverines defeated Fairfield before losing a five-game heartbreaker at Pacific in the second round; and in 2000 U-M defeated Louisville before being swept by No.5 Arizona.
Michigan's first-round opponent, Kansas State, finished the regular season 20-8 overall and 16-4 in the Big 12 Conference. The Wolverines are 0-1 against the Wildcats after a 3-0 (25-30, 22-30, 21-30) loss on Sept. 2, 2001, at the Hawaiian Airlines Wahine Classic in Honolulu, Hawaii. Michigan has never played Washington State or Oral Roberts.
A total of eight Big Ten teams made the 64-team field, tying the Pacific-10 for top representation in the tournament, with four Big Ten schools being among the 16 seeded teams. In addition to the Wolverines, seventh seed Minnesota, 13th seed Penn State, 14th seed Wisconsin, 15th seed Ohio State, Indiana, Michigan State and Northwestern are all headed to the postseason.
Contact: Jason Gerdom (734) 763-4423
